Welcome back to another week of The Waiver Wire! It’s been a couple of weeks since we chatted about fantasy hockey again, this time due to the All-Star Game. If you didn’t enjoy it, bummer. This week, the Penguins are struggling and Andi’s favorite newly discovered Dallas defenseman makes the list. So let's take a look at our disappointments, pleasant surprises and my shot in the dark.
The Disappointments
Sidney Crosby – PIT – C – 100% owned
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Crosby. He missed a game and seems to be playing a little banged up. Out of the four games that he played last week, Crosby only put up 0-1-1 and was -3 over the two week span. His only point, an assist, was scored on the power play. More concerning for Pittsburgh fans as a whole, is that Pitt has been shut out two out of their last three games, both against Washington and Nashville. Now with Malkin out, even more weight rests on the game’s best player. If Crosby is playing hurt, his game may not improve for a while. It isn’t all bad news as he recently got back line mate, Patric Hornqvist.
Martin St. Louis – NYR – C, RW – 95% owned
If there’s anything that teammates Martin St. Louis and Rick Nash could show you, it’s that even some of the best players are still inconsistent (spoiler, every player is inconsistent). Nash has been on a tear for what seems like all year. St. Louis has struggled for quite some time. In the past two weeks, he’s put up a measly 0-1-1 and was -1 on the week. Even more concerning, is that St. Louis hasn’t scored a goal in the last 9 games while amassing 21 shots in that time span. Eventually the puck will start going in for him, you just need to be patient.
Scott Hartnell – CBJ – LW – 70% owned
Outside of Ryan Johansen and Nick Foligno’s ridiculous shooting % of 18.2 (it was 16.2 last year, what gives?), the Blue Jackets as a whole have been a fantasy disappointment. Whether it’s injuries, underperformance or a combination of both, it’s been a brutal year in Columbus. Over his last four games, Hartnell put up 0-0-0 and -2. He added 7 hits and was given 3 minors. Hurray for fantasy hockey perpetuating the myth that PIMs are good! Even though it’s been a rough year, he’s still on pace for about 53 points this year. So even if his +/- is holding you back a bit, not all hope is lost.
The Pleasant Surprises
John Klingberg – DAL – D – 28% owned
The Avs better watch out for this young defenseman in Dallas. He is on quite the hot streak, so much so, that he was awarded rookie of the month for January and is certainly making a case for himself for the Calder (although that’s going to Gaudreau). In the last four games he’s put up 3-3-6 and was even. Specifically, all his scoring was in the last two games, so he’s really feeling it. Dallas has been slowly giving him more and more minutes over the past month. This is a great player to have on your team right now, and if you’re in a keeper league, he may be worth the keep given that you probably added him as a FA.
Carl Hagelin – NYR – LW – 19% owned
The speedy Carl Hagelin had himself a good couple of weeks. Although seeing second/third line minutes, he still managed to put up 2-3-5 while being +4. Those are the type of numbers you never mind seeing your second/third liners put up. I say second/third because he’s only averaging about 16.5 minutes over the past couple weeks, and the Rangers seems to have two 2nd/3rd lines with the time split almost evenly between the two. This lowers Hagelin’s value a little bit, but he still does see power play time and could be a good asset to your team.
Cedric Paquette – TB – C – 3% owned
My bet is that before these last two weeks (and specifically, the game where he had a hatty), Paquette was 0% owned. No way for me to figure that out, at least not that I know of, but I’d put money on it. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see him shoot up to around 10% in the coming week as well. In the past two weeks, he put up 5-1-6 and was +5. He also had 6 hits, 7 blocks and threw in a couple PIMs to round out his fantasy week. That’s about as all around good as you can get, let alone from someone who is hardly owned.
Shot in the Dark
Lance Bouma – CGY – C, LW – 2% owned
Lance Bouma is quietly having himself a pretty solid year. On pace for about 33 points, which is more than double his point production from last year in about 2/3 of the games. In five games over the last two weeks, he put up 2-3-5 and was +3. He plays a physical game, having 16 hits over that span, all while only averaging a little over 15 minutes per game. He’s got position versatility, and could be worth the add.
Well folks, that about wraps it up. What fantasy players are frustrating you? Who is saving your team? Who do you have an eye on? Let me know what you want to see next week on The Waiver Wire.